a smile is worth a thousand words
by kat3.alwaysxox
Summary: Chad Dylan Cooper thinks he falls a little bit in love when Sonny Monroe smiles. Channy.


_a smile is worth a thousand words_

Chad Dylan Cooper thinks he falls a little bit in love when Sonny Monroe smiles..

channy.

I haven't really written Channy in forever, but I was suddenly inspired. It's very random, but I hope I kept it in character and that you like it. I literally just wrote this, and wanted to get it posted. Please don't hate for mistakes, it's not beta'd.

This is for Camilla. She's very loyal to me, and she likes Channy, so she gets Channy.

* * *

1.

Chad Dylan Cooper doesn't know what love is.

2.

Chad Dylan Cooper thinks he falls a little bit in love when Sonny Monroe smiles.

It's the fact that it's so big and so bright and how it's always there.

It gives him this warm, tingly feeling inside.

(And when she smiles, he thinks that maybe she's not so bad after all.)

3.

He thinks that Sonny smiles way more than she has too. After all, what in the world could possibly make someone so happy that they smile all the time? So one day, he decides to go right out and ask her why. She smiles, naturally, and just responds: "Why shouldn't I smile? The sun is shining, the air is fresh, and I'm alive. My dreams are coming true, I'm in Hollywood, and I have nothing to be upset about! Even if I did, you shouldn't take you're sadness out on other's but looking upset."

Chad just scoffs, and Sonny's face falls a little. He regrets it immediately, so he covers the scoff by coughing and walking away.

"Everyone in this town looks like they could use a smile anyway."

He hears her comment, but he just shrugs and continues walking.

4.

The whole thing is so cheesy; he can't help but smile as soon as he's out of sight.

5.

One day when he gets to the studio, he sees Sonny crying.

He's not sure why, but he feels almost bad for her and responsible for the fact she's crying. He goes over to her, sitting down next to her on the step she's sitting on.

"Why so sullen, Sonny? Ratings down? Tawni?" He sneers, and secretly hopes that she realizes it's his way of caring and expressing concern.

"I was going to tell someone I liked them as more than a friend, but I realized that they didn't exactly like me like that and probably never will."

The whole situation sounds a little too school girl for him, but the expression on her face breaks his heart a little. "How can you be so certain?"

"He's dating Tawni."

"Well then he's not worth it."

Sonny smiles, and it's the best possible smile he's ever seen grace her lips because it's for him.

6.

Chad likes girls, because girls like him.

One day, he's making out with some extra (Morgan or Mary or something with an M) when the closet door opens, and a thud is heard.

He looks around in time to see a wide-eyed Sonny gathering papers off the floor.

"I'll just be going now!" She says in a hurry.

Her brunette head has disappeared out the now closed door before he can stop her, and he turns back to the blonde in the closet with him.

She smiles, and purrs "Now, where were we?"

He shrugs, stands, and walks out the door, not taking another look back, because he realizes the blonde's smile is slightly crooked, and it gives him this weird lump in his throat.

7.

He walks over to the live tapping of her show when he's on break a couple of days after the closet incident.

He hasn't talked to her or seen her since, and he kind of misses her smile.

He's watching the show from the back row, and looks around him. Everyone is happy and laughing and smiling and screaming when Sonny comes out in between sketches to sign autographs.

At the end, she comes out smiling to bow. He's the only one who doesn't clap, because he realizes that she's everything he wishes he could be and can do everything he wants to do.

She makes people happy.

And that's more than he can say.

8.

Later, he realizes he didn't just clap because of that, but because her smile then was even bigger than the smile she gave him, which really took away from the sentimental value.

9.

Chad is having a bad day, when he sees someone struggling. He decides to do something uncharacteristically thoughtful.

"Here, let me help you."

He holds the door open for the 20-something-year-old, as she wheels her dad in his wheelchair.

"Thank you so much. He hasn't been the same since last year when my mom lost her battle."

The woman smiles softly at Chad and he nods, returning the smile.

10.

He thinks he's finally starting to understand why Sonny smiles so much.

11.

Everyone from Condor Studios is at the fundraiser banquette.

Sonny's laughing with Nico and Grady when Tawni and Alex walk up. Alex's arm is placed firmly around Tawni's waist, and from across the room, Chad notices as Sonny's genuine smile falters, and is replaced with a fake smile. This smile is even worse than seeing her cry, because he knows the truth behind it, and that it's all just a lie.

He walks over to the open dessert table and grabs a bowl of ice cream. Then, Chad makes his way over to Sonny's side, handing her the bowl, and whispers in her ear: "I read in one of those teen magazines that girls prefer chocolate over any other flavor after heartbreak."

He winks at her as he turns to leave and watches her fake smile turn into a small grin.

It's not much, but it's enough to satisfy him for the rest of the night.

12.

Tawni and Alex break up right before Valentine's day.

It's not dramatic, and Tawni already kissing someone new three days later.

Chad notices that Sonny's smile is slightly bigger since the break-up, and can't explain why his heart is beating faster or why his stomach is in these weird knots.

13.

This time Chad walks in on Sonny making out with someone (Alex) in the closet.

She's got a huge smile on her face, but to him, it's even worse than the fake smile.

He blames the lump in his throat on the surprise he feels when he sees Sonny doing such a un-Sonny like thing.

14.

Three weeks later is when hell breaks loose. Sonny realizes she was just the naïve rebound girl who almost lost everything, Tawni re-links with her former flame, and Alex ends up with a broken nose.

It's an eventful hour to say the least.

15.

Sometimes Chad wonders if Sonny Monroe is some sort of robot or something.

It takes her two days to start smiling again. Not that he's complaining, but two days? There's just something un-human to that whole idea.

Her best friend just stabbed her in the back and she realized that she'd always be second best (at least in that douche's eyes, who was even more of an idiot then Chad though before), and she was _smiling_.

16.

Chad is sitting on the top row in his corner watching _So Random_ being tapped when he witnesses Sonny Monroe shatter in front of millions of viewers.

She's in the middle of a sketch about two werewolf teens. She starts to say this line about a full moon, looking right into the spotlights, but she begins to stumble over her words. The wrong line leaves her mouth (he can see one of the Teleprompters from his position) and before anyone can blink, she's in tears, running off the stage.

Their clown of a director shouts "Commercial!". Nico and Grady try to entertain the fans. Zora just rolls her eyes, muttering about hormones. Tawni walks over and kisses Alex. Chad resists the urge to punch them all, and exits the studio in hopes of finding Sonny.

He finds her.

She's sitting out on that same step in the back of the studio, her knees hugged to her chest.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to let you down, really! I-" She stops talking, and looks up upon hearing him clear his throat. "Oh, Chad. You probably think I'm an idiot."

"I don't think you're an idiot." His brow creases, as he sits down next to her.

"I just forgot a line in front of a million viewers and ran off stage crying. I'm a loser."

"You're not a loser." He laughs a little, and she just stares at her feet. "You want to talk about why you're really crying?"

His eyes remain fixed on her swollen face, with fresh tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Tawni and Alex were kissing-"

"Really, Sonny? Even I know they're not worth it-"

"No, but that's not what really got me." She looks up, and her tear-filled eyes meet his blue ones. "I'm never good enough. I'm not quite smart enough to get an A, or quite pretty enough to be first choice, or quite good enough to say my line perfectly. I'm just not good enough." She sighs, and lets out a choked sob.

"You don't have to be perfect." Is all that he says.

"I don't want to be perfect, just good enough."

He awkwardly rubs her back, and lets her mascara stain his shirt. He wants to say more, but he thinks the silence speaks more then he could ever put into words.

17.

Chad realizes as he's rubbing her back that she's not a robot. She's just a human with a pretty face painted on to cover her imperfections and hurts.

18.

Chad wants to tell her that she doesn't need to be better, because she's the best person he's ever met, but he decides to keep those thoughts to himself.

19.

After three hours of crying, Sonny's breathing is starting to even out, and she smiles.

"Thanks, Chad." She says, hugging him.

Chad melts into the hug, and decides everything he ever thought before was wrong. This smile had to be the best smile he's ever seen because it's real, and raw, and shows the imperfect Sonny, who doesn't know when to stop, and sometimes doubts what love really is.

20.

The next week, Sonny is back on stage and Chad is watching. Except this time, he claps at the end.

She's smiling and still is everything he wishes he could be, but he knows the truth behind the smile, and that the audience makes her feel loved by being happy and laughing.

21.

He also claps because she knows he's sitting there watching, and that when she smiles at the end, it's directed towards him.

22.

Somewhere in between everything else, Chad just becomes _Chad_.

He's a broken hearted boy, who's often unsure of himself, but he's never felt happier.

23.

"Hey, Sonny?"

"Hmm?"

They're sitting on their little step. She's stuffing her swollen face with ice cream and his shirt has her mascara stains smeared across the sleeves.

"You're better than good, and don't change for anyone. Especially not for people like me and Alex and Tawni."

The words had been sitting on his tongue for about a month, and he's kind of relived to get them out. Silence over takes the surroundings, and he closes his eyes, hoping he didn't just lose the first friend he never had.

"Hey, Chad?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks."

He turns and sees her toothy grin smiling back at him.

24.

He didn't think it was possible, but every time he sees her smile, he thinks it gets bigger and brighter and better.

25.

Chad Dylan Cooper knows what love is.

It's a May day, the sun is shining and Sonny is wearing a white sundress, with a yellow flower in her hair. She's sitting on their step reading some little book of inspiration, her bare feet crossed under her legs. It's not until his shadow casts over her when she looks up, and smiles.

It's a big, bright smile, with hopes and secrets and promises lying beneath the surface.

It makes him feel warm and tingly, and he knows that maybe everything that's wrong will eventually be ok after all.

He looks into her brown eyes, and there's some comfort there, and he finds love.

And he absolutely loves it.

26.

(Sonny Monroe doesn't know what love is, but she thinks she falls a little bit in love every time she looks in Chad Dylan Cooper's eyes. They're deep and soul reading and always have hidden meanings. They give her this warm, tingly feeling. And when she looks in them, she realizes that maybe he's not so bad after all.)

* * *

Like it? Hate it? Tell me? _Review please_.


End file.
